Morpeth, NSW
"People come to expect sales all the time and if you do it regularly enough, it can really devalue your product," she explains. "We try desperately hard to offer something different to other stores and try to push handmade, local, original designs instead."
But it hasn't been easy. Webb, who originally specialised in one-off originals from the likes of Peace Angels, Glass Diva and Aurora, says she has had to become more mainstream in recent years. Surrounding stores with cheaper imports and raging sales proved too tough to compete with.
"We were doing the boho look before it became popular but as soon as it took off, I found the competition a lot harder ? everyone had a cheaper version of what I was selling."
Now, alongside delicate, $500 skirts, the retail store ? dubbed Princess Bazaar - stocks Sass, Johnson and Bell and dressy labels such as Gerry Shaw and Boo Radley. Webb has also introduced a customer loyalty program in recent years with rewards and invitation-only events for top spenders.
"It's helped me reach a broader customer base," she says. "Now I have 600 members on my loyalty program."
Just down the road from Webb, storeowner Trish Ousby says she aims tp cater for both regulars and tourists alike. A relative newcomer on the scene ? Ousby's store Little Swans on Swan opened its doors in September 2005 ? she trades six days a week in order to catch the wave of tourists that descend around the Hunter Valley loop on weekends.
Catering for new-borns to children aged up to 16, Ousby stocks everything from Seafolly to Bebe to Mini Haha and says that dresses are the all-round best sellers ? even during tough times.
"I guess trade has gotten a little slower recently because this is a drought effected area. But, we get people driving down from the city and quite a few foreign tourists who like to shop on their holiday."
Lowdown
Location: 168km north of Sydney
Population:16 000
Stores:Little Swans on Swan, Princess Bazaar
Brands:Sass, Gerry Shaw, Boo Radley, Seafolly, Bebe, Mini Haha.